Phonograph-record-cleaning attachment



J. RUNK. PHONOGRAPH necoao mums ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.26 918- 1,404,147. Patented Jan. 17, 1922..

INVEN 0/? JO/ULRYJJL u A TTUR/VEYS J. RUNK.

PHO'NOGRAPH RECORD CLEANING ATTACHMENT. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 26,.1918.

1,404,147, Patented Jan. 17, 1922.

WITNESSES J. RUNK.

PHONOGRAPH RECORD CLEANING ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.26, I918.

INVENTOH 7 27.

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ATTORNEYS Patented J an. 1 7,

C76 72 70.8 cc

WITNESSES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN BUNK, OF STILLWATER, MINNESOTA.

PHON OG-RAPH-RECORD-CLEAN IN G ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 17, 19:22.

Application filed December 26,- 1918. Serial No. 268,346.

arm in advance of the reproducer needle,

so as to move over the sound grooves ahead of the needle and wipe outaccumulations of dust from the grooves and insure a clearer and morefaithful reproduction of the recorded sound waves.

Another and very important objectof the of either velvet, cotton, wool,linen, silk or other suitable material and fumed with either adisinfectant orperfume, this wiper being used in connection with theaforesaid cleaning attachment, and being usable a number of times beforebeing finally discarded.

A further object of the invention is to provide a combination ofcleaning attachments of substantially the same nature, said attachmentsbeing mounted on the tone-arm and a separate support respectively, saidattachments having wipers as described, for cleaning the record andpolishing the surface to remove finger marks.

A further object of the invention is to provide an assortment ofbrushes, arranged to be used in place of the fabric wipers under certaincircumstances.

A further object of the invention resides in the various modificationsin the construction of the cleaning attachment, the fundamentalprinciple of the invention being retainedin each instance.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,reference being had to theaccompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is aperspective view illustrating the application of the cleaning attachmentto the tone-arm of the phonograph,

Figure 2 is a section on the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the clamp and slide,

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the primary holder,

Figures 5 and 6 are perspective views showing the primary holder andclosure plate separated,

Figure 7 is a perspective View showing the extension holder open,

Figures 8, 8, 8.", and 8 are perspective views showing various forms offabric wipers used in connection with the cleaning attachment,

Figure 9 is a detail sectional view illustrating the use of an extensionplate in place of the extension holder,

Figure 10 is a cross section similar to Figure 2 showing ..a brush inplace of the velvet wiper,

Figure 11 is a perspective view of a modified form of brush whereinshort and relatively stiff bristles are employed.

Figure 12 is a perspective view of another form of the 'brush,

Figure 13 is a perspective view illustrating the use of an extensionsupport by means of which the cleaning attachment can be applied totone-arms of other constructions than that shown in Figure 1,

Figure 14 is a detail perspective view of the extension support shown inFigure 13,

Figure 15 is a perspective view of an auxiliary handle wherein certainof the brushes may be employed,

Figure 16 is a perspective view illustrating the use of the handle andbrush in reaching the center of the record where the cleaning attachmentordinarily does not reach,

Figures 17, 18, 19, and 20 are detail views of modifications of thespring members, hereinafter referred to,

Figure 21 is a perspective view illustrating a fixedly clamped cleaningattachment,

Figure 22 is a perspective view showing a one-piece spring used inconnection with the cleaning attachment,

Figure 23 is a perspective view illustrating the use of a separatelysupported relatively broad cleaning member, in combination withthetone-arm attached cleaning member,

Figure 24 is a detail perspective view of the adjustable standardcomprising a part of the separate support in Figure 23,

Figure 25 is a longitudinal section of the extensible arm of theseparate support,

Figure 26 is a detail sectional view of the clamp member in Figure 25,

Figure 27 is a section of the balance weight constituting a furthermodification in the separate sup-port,

Figure 28 is a perspective view of the balance weight showing one methodof attachin it,

igure 29 is a perspective view of the bal-' ance weight illustrating theuse of the balance weight fastener arm, and

Figure 30 is a perspective view of a modified brush holder.

One olf the foremost objects of the inventlion is to provide a fabricwiper for cleaning and polishing the surface of a record.

The wiper can be made in a number of different ways as illustrated inFigures 8, 8", 8", and 8. Itcan bemade of many differ-- ent materials,some of which have already been mentioned.v

It is also proposed to fumigate the wipers with both perfume anddisinfectant. The wipers are simply subjected to the fumes of either theone or the other, and the liquid is not applied directly thereto. Theuse of a perfumed wiper creates a pleasant odor which is agreeable tothose listening to the music.

y The advantages of using a disinfected. wiper need not be enlarged uponhere. It is sufiicient to say that phonographic records are assusceptible to the lodgment of disease germs, as is anything else.' Thisis especially true where a record is taken into different homes andhandled by different persons. The disinfected wiper is intended tobeused once or twice on the new record, so as to kill the germs.

Having thus generally stated the purpose of the wlpers, attention is nowdirected to the construction of the wiper holder or cleaning attachmentper se. It will be ob-. served more particularl in Figures 2 and 10,that the invention is capable of being used both as a holder !for thefabric wiper and fora brush. As has been stated, the fabric wiper isused for polishing the surface. The brush is used for cleaning outaccumulations ofdust from the grooves.

The attachment comprises a.clamp which has a fixed jaw 1 and a hingedjaw 2. By means of the clamp, the device is attached to the swingingportion of the tone-arm 3 of the phonograph. The jaw 2 is made of asuitable length before it is bent over upon itself to form thefinger-piece 4, upon which the thumb is arranged to press in order torelease the jaw 2 from the tone-arm and enable the removal of thedevice. It is to be observed that the bent over portion of the jaw 2forms a shield as itwere, for the upper extremity of a spring 5, bymeans of which the jaw 2 is pressed against the tone-arm. The spring 5is subject to various modifications as illustrated in Figures 17 18 and22. The clea-nin attachment may also be reversed from tfie positionshown in Figure 1 in applying it to the tone-arm, if it be so desired.

Pads 6 are applied to the inner surfaces of the jaws 1 and 2, by meansof pad plates 7 into which suitable securing screws are threaded. Thecloth, leather, or other suita-ble'material of which the pads are made,is wrapped around the plates 7 and secured in place substantially asshown in Figure 2. The pad plates, together with the padding thereon,are readily removable should the occasion arise to remove them.

Other means instead of the screws, may be used to fasten the pad platesin place. One of such means consists of the use of ears 7 as indicatedin dotted lines in Figure 3. These ears are -simply bent over the jaw 2.Still other means beside the two mentioned, may be employed in thisconnection. Such other means will be used when the various parts of thedevice are fastened together by rivets in place of the screwsillustrated invarious places in Figures'land 3.

A bridge 8 extending forwardly from the hinge pin which holds the twojaws together, serves as a mounting for the coils of the spring 5. Acollar 9 fitted on the bridge 8 100 holds the coils apart. The ends ofthe spring 5 are held in apertures in a block 10. The block is fastenedin any suitable manner on a slide head 11. The slide head is secured tothe jaw 1 and is practically an integral part 105 thereof. The slidehead 11 is intended to hold the primary holder 12 which is slid in placefrom either end. It will be observed from Figure 2 that the slide head11 is contracted at the open edge, giving the slide head a wedge-shapedappearance. This wedge-shape of the slide head serves to hold theprimary holder in place, since the head of the primary holder issimilarly shaped to closely fit the opening in the slide head.

.The primary holder 12 has an, open side as is shown in-Figure 5. Aclosure plate 13 is fitted in this open side to'clo'se the primaryholder. The lower .portions of the ends 14 of the primary holder 12, arebent around to form arms which embrace the ends of an extension holder.The vertical edges of the arms engage the inwardly curled lower portions15 of the closure plate 13, when the closure plate is set in placeinside of the arms as illustrated in Figure 4.

Shoulders 16 formed just above the inwardly curled portions 15 of theplate 13, engage rests 17 on top of the arms 14, when the closure plateis set in place. The upper portions of the arms 14 are suitably shapedand bent inwardly as shown, to close the remaining open ends of theprimary holder. The

upper longitudinal closure portion of the 6 primary holder 12,terminates in a flange which rests upon the upper edge of the plate 13when the parts are assembled. As stated above, the primary holder isintended to hold the extension holder 18 which consists of two plateshinged together as shown-in Figure 7. One of the plates is longer thanthe other as shown in Figure 2. The .front plate is the longest andterminates in a slightly inwardly curved edge. The front plate has sidearms 19 as shown in Figure 7. These embrace the inwardly curled edges ofthe rear plate, when the two plates of the extension holder are closedupon the velvet wiper 20. The shorter rear plate also has an inwardlycurved edge which binds the wiper as shown in Figure 2.

The wiper 20 consists of a fabric piece which is folded over and sewn.In Figure 8 the wiper is sewn in the middle. This provides foursurfaces, each of which; can be used before the wiper is thrown away.The material of the wlpers may be of different colors, such as red,orange, yellow, etc.

In Figures 8 and 8*,the fabric piece is folded over and sewn on the topedge. It can be doubled over insuch a manner so as to bring the end 20on the inside to form a filler or padding. A lining or padding 20 issewn inside of the wiper in Figure 8. These wipers are cheap enough tobe thrown away when dirty.

An extension plate 21 as shown in Figure 9, can be used inconnectionwith the primary holder 12 instead of using the extension. holder 18. Inthis arrangement, the wiper is disposed perpendicularly with respect tothe record. The plate 21 is simply a rectangular plate of metal which isinserted in the primary holder 12 in front of the wiper 20. The use ofeither the extension plate 21 or the extension holder 18, is optionalwith the owner of the instrument.

A further modification of the cleaning attachment appears in Figure 23et seq., and will be described later. Attention is now directed to thebrush 22. The brush is made in various shapes to suit differentpurposes. Various forms are shown in Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, and 30. Thebrush in Figure 11, which has relatively short and stiff bristles, isused to initially clean a record when it is particularly dirty. Theother brushes with relatively long bristles are used in othercircumstances.

When the brush 22 shown in Figure 10 is used, the extension holder 18 isnot necessary. The block of the brush is simply slipped into the openmouth of the primary holder 12. The brush in Figure 11 will have 65 tobe placed in a vertical position on the record, similarly as when usingthe extension plate 21 in' Figure 9, since it is relatively short asalready stated.

The block of the brush 22 in Figure 12, is shaped similarly to the upperportion of 7 the primary holder 12 so that the block of the brush may beslidin place in the slide head 11 without using the primary holder.

The extension support 23 is used to enable the attachment of the deviceto the tonearm of the phonograph which does not have the laterallyextending portion from which it may be mounted as shown in Figure 1. Theextension support 23 includes a fixed jaw 24 and a hinged jaw 25. Afterthe jaws are made to embrace the tone-arm 3 shown in Figure 13, thedevice is securely placed by means of the thumb screw 26 which-occupiesthreaded openings in the ears of the jaws. Either the wiper 20 or 85brush 22 may be employed in this connec tion.

A separate handle 27 is intended to be sold with the attachment so thatthose of the brushes constructed as shown in Figure 11, may be insertedin the holder portion 28 of the handle and be used to clean the centerof the record as shown in Figure 16. This brush handle is simply anaccessory enabling the cleaning of the center of the record. Neither thebrush 22 nor the wiper 20 when held in the attachment in Figures 1, 10,etc., can reach the center of the record. However, other provision ismade for reaching the center, and attention is therefore directed to themodification in Figure 23. A slide head 11 somewhat on the order of theone illustrated in Figure 1, but 'modified in certain respects, is shownat the left. Here the improved slide head is shown as operating inconjunction with the cleaning attachment which is carried by thetonearm. The arrangement is such that the entire record is polished fromthe center to the periphery.

A slide bar 34has a thickened exposed end 35 upon which the keeper 36 ofthe slide head 11 is mounted for horizontal adjustment. This adjustmentis made by means of a thumb screw 37 with a jam nut on the bottom. Thekeeper isjointed at 38 to permit vertical adjustment thereof. A shield39 both above and below the joint, limits the amount of adjustment ofthe wipersor brushes in either of two positions.

These shield portions act as safety guards and prevent the slide barfrom dropping onto the record in the event that the screw 38 becomesloosened. In such an event, the natural tendency is for the wiper todrag forwardly by virtue of the friction of the record, and then it isthat the upper shield principally come into play to avoid the objectionnoted.

A holder 40 forms the medium whereby the wiper 20 is attached to thekeeper. This holder is hinged together at the edges of the portions ofthe side plates which are bent upon themselves as shown in Figure 26.

This arrangement provides finger pieces which can be pressed togetheragainst the tension of springs 41, to open the jaws of the holder andenable the insertion of the wiper. I I

The slide bar 34 is adjustable to various distances over the record, bymeans of a thumb screw 42 which is threaded in the thickened innerend ofthe slide bar and is arranged to bind on the keeper bar 43. It will beobserved that the slide bar slides in the keeperbar 43, the sides ofwhich are turned over to house the slide bar.

The bifurcated end 44 of'the keeper bar is hinged to the adjustable post45 of a standard or base 46. The wiper 20 remains in place on the recordby the weight of the slide head by which it is carried, the hingeconnection at the bifurcation 44 being provided for this purpose. Thehinge connection includes a washer 47 with lateral pintles. The washeris fastened in place by means of a thumb screw.

The base 46 is secured to the bed of the machine, and the post 45 isadjustable with respect thereto. Should it be desired to avoidmutilatingthe machine bed by screwing the base in place as stated, thebalance weight 48 illustrated in Figures 27, 28, and 29 may be usedinstead. A adding 49 of felt or other material, is attac ed to ayokelike member 50 which partly embraces the balance weight from thebottom. A plate 'on the inside of the padding keeps it in shape andenables the threading of the securing screws thereinto. The yoke 50 is Iheld in place by screws 51.

A ball'bearing 52 occupies a seat 53 in the bottom portion of the yoke,and supports a 0st 45 similar to the one in Figure 24. ith this post aswivel conection of the keeper bar 43 is obtained, since an annulargroove is formed in the post in'which the end of the screw 54 isintroduced.

In certain cases, as for instance when the balance plate is employed buttemporarily, it'is simply set in position where it stays because of itsweight. In some instances it is possible to hold the balance weight inplace by simply removing the screw 51 at the right, and reversing thekeeper plate 55 so that the end of the plate may be projected into anadjacent seam in the bed of the machine.

Under other circumstances, however, either of alternative balance weightfastenings may be employed. Reference is directed to Figures 28 and 29.Here the bottom portion of the yoke 50 has a lateral lug 56 to which anadjustable bifurcated COI1-:"

motor 57 is secured. The connector 57 is simply fitted beneath the headof an adjacent screw as shown in Figure 28, and thus the balance weightis held in position.

Should there be no convenient screw head to permit the use of'theconnector 57, the lu 56 is used as a connector for the balance welghtfastener 58. In'this instance the fastener 58 consists of a flat barwith a bifurcated end. This end is concealed under the turn table, andadmits a securing screw as shown in Figure 29. This screw is unloosenedto obtain the positioning of the balance weight fastener.

Instead of using the improved slide head 11 with the fabric wiper 20, abrush 22 with a substantially triangular head 59 is employed, byinserting the head directly into the keeper 36. This is shown in Figure30.

The modification inFigure 21 consists of a stationary front clasp 2which has an integral bridge 29 and plate 30. The plate 30 is secured tothe slide head 11 by means of the screws shown in the drawing. A hingepin 31 is fitted'in place through the bridge 29 and similar portions 31of the back clasps 1, so as to rigidly hold the device in place on thetone-arm. The'hinge connection is fixed by means of set screws 31.

The modification in Figure 22 comprises a one-piece spring 32 which isafii'xed to the slide head 11. This is done eitherdirectly asillustrated, or with an inserted block 10 similar to the one in Figure1, and in Figures 17 and 18. A piece of rubber 33 i slipped over thetongue of the spring, so as to protect the finish of thetone-arm.

vThe modifications in Figures 17 to 2( simply illustrate another form ofthe spring 5 by means of which the pad 6 on the jaw 2 is pressed incontact, with the tone-arm. In Figure 18 the spring is in the nature ofa plurality of narrow leaves which are set in the block or spring socket10. The, nature of the setting is shown in'Figure 19. These leaf springsmay be used either singly as shown in Figure 17 or in compound ar-vrangement as in Figures 18 and 19.

A similar advantage is gotten by making the leaf spring of a singlebroad member as in Figure 22. A cap 10 is arranged to cover the springsocket 10. In order that .the cap may seat snugly on the socket 10, itis provided with recesses 1O which receive the heads of the screws whichhold the leaf springs in place. In such an event that the sprin socket10 is employed for the ,purpose tube, is that theneedle is preventedfrom sliding across the record when through playing. This saves manyrecords from bepletely. This is desirable, since the squeezing out ofthe graphite of the spring barrel is avoided. This is also a good thingfor the spring.

While the construction and arrangement of the cleaning attachment isthat of a generally preferred form, obviously modifications and changesmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the claims.

I claim 1. A record cleaning attachment comprising record engagingmeans, gripping means therefor, holding means inwhich said grippingmeans is inserted to cause the ripping action, and supporting means in Wich the holdin means is removably slid.

2. Mians for mounting a cleaning attachment to a tone arm, comprising aclamp jaw, with a hinged jaw; and pads to prevent injuring the tone armsurface, including plates with a covering secured inside of said jaws.

3. Means for mounting a cleaning attachment to a tone arm, comprising aclamp jaw, with a hinged jaw having a fingerpiece by which it is opened;a coil spring having one end fixed on a part of the clamp jaw, and theother part bearing on the hinged jaw beneath the fingerpiece; and meansextending from the pin of the jaw hinge, for supporting the coil of thespring.

4. A record cleaning attachment, comprisinga fabric wiper, grippingmeans directly receiving the wiper, holding means including a slidehead, means insertable in the slide head providing the connectionbetween said slide head and the gripping means of the wiper, andclamping means for securing the attachment to a tone-arm.

5. Cleaning attachment mounting means, comprisin a clamp jaw with acompanion jaw hinge thereto, a wire spring, having a loop end bearing onthe hinged jaw, including coils with wire ends extending therefrom;means carried by a part of the clamp jaw for holding said wire ends, andmeans for supporting the spring coils, including a U bridge extendingfrom the pin of the jaw hinge, and a 0011 separating collar on thebridge.

6. In cleaning attachment mounting means,

a clamp jaw, with a companion jaw hinged thereto; a block carried b apart of the clamp jaw, and a spring. with one end fixed in the block andthe other end bearing on the hinged jaw.

7. A record cleaning attachment, a primary holder comprising a bodyportion having arms curved toward an open side and providing rests,extensions of said arms pro viding closures for the ends of said body,said body being bent outwardly above the region of said rests andterminating in a flanged longitudinal edge forming a top, and a closureplate insertable in the holder to close the open side, said plate havingshoulders engaging the rests and inwardly curved portions engaging saidarms, the upper edge of said closure plate resting beneath said flange.

8. In a record cleaning attachment, an extension holder consisting of apair of plates hinged together and having the longitudinal edges curvedinwardly, one of the plates being wider than the other and both plateshaving the transverse edges curved inwardly, and arms formed on thewider plate to cooperate with the inwardly curved edges of the narrowplate.

9. The combination in a cleaning attachment, of a holder, and a tonearm-carried slide head into which the holder is slid, and which iswedge-shaped to retain it.

10. A record cleaning attachment, comprising means for supporting arecord cleaning and polishing element, a slide head into which saidmeans is slid; a padded member fixed on the slide head, arranged topartly encircle a tone-arm and having ears forming part of a hingeconnection, a cooperating padded member arranged to be secured to theslide head and having ears cooperating with said hinge ears, and a pinfitted through all of said ears.

11. The combination in a cleaning attachment, of a hinged-plateextension wiper holder, a primary holder, including plates divergentlybent to form a head, into which the extension holder is slid; and aconvergingly sided clamp jaw-carried slide head into which the head ofthe primary holder is slid to cause a gripping action on a wiper in theextension holder.

JOHN RUN K. Witnesses: I

E. D. BUFFINGTON, L. B. CASTLE.

